


Our Hallmark Ending

by CubbieGirl1723



Category: Veronica Mars (TV), Veronica Mars - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Holidays, Season/Series 03, Veronica Mars Holiday Fic Grab Bag, prompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-19 12:35:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17001771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CubbieGirl1723/pseuds/CubbieGirl1723
Summary: Trust. Honesty. Commitment. All that jazz.





	Our Hallmark Ending

**Author's Note:**

> This story was inspired by Prompt 30–Logan gets to enjoy a Christmas during season 3 and spends it with Veronica, Prompt 44–I ran into my ex at the supermarket, Prompt 45–I don’t want to sleep alone on Christmas, Prompt 50–Veronica and Logan participate in a holiday activity together, and Prompt 51–Logan has no one to spend Christmas with and Veronica invites him to spend it with her.

“Oh, um, hi.” Veronica’s face flushes and she does that nervous thing with her eyes where they dart everywhere. She was standing on the bottom shelf, stretching her fingers as far as possible, trying to use it as a step stool to reach the last box of mashed potatoes, which have been shoved to the back of the top shelf. The fluorescent lights of the grocery store made her look pale, Logan thinks as he slides the potatoes forward until the box topples off the shelf into her waiting hands. 

“Thanks,” she mutters, stepping down off the shelf and staring at her boots. 

He shrugs like it’s no big deal. The awkward moment stretches on and he can tell she is surprised to run into him. 

He is surprised to run into anyone. He was supposed to go to Aspen for Christmas break, and right about now he desperately wishes he would have. Maybe he could have avoided this whole mess. 

“Hi.” He throws a box of macaroni into the shopping basket that’s slung over his arm. 

But curiosity is one of Veronica’s defining personality traits and and so he’s not surprised that she needs to solve the Mystery of Logan Echolls and the Macaroni. Or the Case of the Christmas Eve Dinner. He’s not entirely sure what she’s titled it, but she’s definitely gonna ask. 

“Logan, what are you doing here?” She glances at him and then around at the grocery store, like she just can’t reconcile the experience. 

He holds up his grey plastic shopping basket and raises an eyebrow. “Shopping. I thought the great Veronica Mars could have figured this one out, but no?” 

He gestures around at the store and the paltry items he’s carrying. 

He really doesn’t want to be mean to her but sometimes the sarcasm just leaks out. And no one is more fun to snark at than Veronica. 

She doesn’t snark back, though, which is kind of disappointing, just rolls her eyes and primly folds her hands together on the handle of her shopping basket. 

“I mean what is the great Logan Echolls doing in such a plebeian place like a grocery store? I thought you had people to do this sort of thing for you.” She pauses and her forehead furrows. “And room service.”

“Ah. Well. It seems the mighty have finally fallen. The room service is gone.” It’s his turn to look down at his shoes, sheepish. 

She raises an eyebrow in question. “Gone? Was the Neptune Grand swallowed up a sinkhole?”

He contemplates making up an elaborate story, more to make her laugh than anything, but in the end he goes with the truth. 

“We got kicked out.” He shrugs, trying not to be embarrassed. 

A smirk starts at the corner of her mouth. “What happened?”

He moves out of the way of a frantic housewife careening her shopping cart down the aisle, grabbing Veronica’s arm, pulling her closer to the limited selection of boxed dinners. She doesn’t seem to notice, intent now on getting the story. He sighs and drops his hand. 

“It was mostly Dick’s fault. He was drunk, naked, and throwing the ugly room decorations off the balcony.” Logan grimaces. “Although to be fair, I was too drunk to babysit him like I should have, so I’m to blame, as well.”

Surprisingly, she lets this go. Maybe it’s Christmas Spirit, or something, inspiring her to be less judgmental. Whatever it is, he’ll take it. 

“Was it the fish above the bed? Or the weird vase by the door? Because I think the Grand should thank you for disposing of those eyesores.” 

He huffs a bitter laugh. “Unfortunately, Management disagreed. Even eccentric playboy millionaires can’t get away with that.” He pulls a wry face. “So I’m making my own Christmas dinner.” 

He tilts his shopping basket to show her the contents—boxed macaroni, microwave popcorn, and a package of Oreos. 

She peers in and shoots him a grimace of disgust. “You should come to my house.”

She doesn’t clap her hands over her mouth or try to take back her words but he knows it takes effort. She gulps, her eyes wide. He can tell she is just as surprised by her offer as he is. 

“Um,” he says, at the same time she says, “It’s just, my dad’s out of town and—”

They both stop talking at he stares at her. Her clunky boots, jeans, and pigtails are typical Veronica Mars, but the circles under her eyes are new. Maybe he’s not the only one having a hard time lately. 

He knows he should decline her offer—she obviously didn’t mean it—but she hasn’t rescinded it yet and he’s really not looking forward to spending Christmas at the Pi Sig frat house with Dick and the two international students who didn’t go home for Christmas.

She’s staring at him expectantly now, like she actually wants an answer. 

“Really, Veronica? Are you sure?” He looks over at the shelf and runs his finger absently along a box of Rice-A-Roni. She’s going to laugh and pretend like it was all a joke now, he can tell. 

But she doesn’t. 

“Yeah, you should come. It’s just me and Backup and—” She pauses, taking a deep breath. “Okay, maybe I didn’t exactly mean to invite you but you should come.”

Veronica, who searches for truth so avidly but never wants to tell it herself, is actually being honest with him, and that’s what finally sells him on it. 

“Yeah, okay. That would be nice.” He shrugs his shoulders and sticks his free hand in his pants pocket, rattling his keys. 

She glances at her watch. “How about this? Give me some time to finish shopping. Go home and grab a bag and meet me at my apartment in two hours.”

“Grab a bag?” 

“Of course. It’s Christmas Eve! You have to spend the night so we can wake up on Christmas morning.” She waves her hand in the air like this is so totally obvious. 

He knows that Veronica is not inviting him over for a Christmas booty call but is she just going to ignore the elephant in the room that is their two year on-again off-again relationship?

“See you soon.” She gives him a genuine smile and hurries off to finish her shopping. 

Apparently yes, she is going to ignore that. And maybe if he does, too, the awkwardness and lingering attraction will go away. 

She spins on her heel and quickly turns back to face him. “Put the mac and cheese back, but feel free to bring the popcorn and Oreos.” She tosses him a wink, walking backwards out of the aisle. 

“I’ll take care of the snacks,” he says, putting the box of macaroni on a nice, low shelf for vertically-challenged shoppers. “That’s really where I excel, anyway.”

She points at his shopping basket. “Obviously.”

She disappears around the corner and Logan is left wondering if he hallucinated the whole thing. 

——

Promptly two hours later, Logan finds himself knocking on the door to the Mars’ apartment. He wasn’t sure if Veronica was a ‘get dressed up for Christmas dinner’ person or if she was thinking more along the lines of eating on a TV tray in her pajamas in front of a movie. So he’s thrown on his nice dark-wash jeans and a maroon cashmere sweater but he has his pajamas in his backpack, plus his grocery bag of snacks and a bag of wrapped presents. 

She flings open the door with a smile. He has a moment to appreciate her red Christmas dress before Backup charges at him. 

Veronica lunges for the dog’s collar, catching him around the neck to prevent an escape, and apologizes, “Sorry, I guess he’s just really excited to see you.” 

She drags the dog back inside and shuts the door behind them. 

Logan drops the load of things he’s carrying by the door and pulls a box of dog treats, complete with red Christmas bow, from his bag of presents. 

“Or maybe he just can’t wait until Christmas morning to unwrap this.” He shakes the box enticingly and Backup dances around, toenails clacking on the tile floor, as he begs for a treat. 

Veronica rolls her eyes. “Spoiled puppy. You can give him one.” 

She holds up her finger to emphasize her point and Logan laughs as the dog catches the treat he tosses in mid-air. He bends down to scratch his ears and murmur baby talk to the friendly pit bull. He’d always wanted a dog—of course he wasn’t allowed to have one—and he can still remember coming over to Veronica’s house to play with Backup when he was just a puppy. 

He stands up, flicks the ball on the end of Veronica’s Santa hat, and grabs his bag of presents. “Where can I put these?” 

She looks around at the bare apartment. “I actually haven’t put up the tree yet. I didn’t really want to before… but I thought maybe you would help me tonight?”

He can’t remember the last time he decorated a Christmas tree, if ever. Maybe elementary school? He nods and sets the bag down on the armchair in the living room, fiddling with his sleeves. 

“Sure. Where is your dad, anyway?”

She grimaces. “A case took him out of town. Albuquerque. He thought he’d be home but…” she trails off and looks down at her hands. Her fingers are laced tightly together in front of her stomach. 

“I’m sorry, Veronica.” 

He wants to give her a hug but he doesn’t know if they do that now. It’s probably a bad idea so he turns and starts setting out the snacks he bought on the kitchen island. In addition to the microwave popcorn and Oreos, he picked up some Twizzlers, chips and salsa, a bag of dark chocolates, Skist, two bottles of wine, and two pints of ice cream. He displays everything on the island and then waves his hands like Vanna White. Veronica is busying herself with something in the oven but she looks up at his dramatic presentation and nods her approval. 

“Very nice. Throw the ice cream in the freezer so it doesn’t melt. And actually, you need to move everything over there,” she points with a spatula to a spot on the counter by the refrigerator, “because that’s the table.”

“Oh, yeah.” He had forgotten that the kitchen island doubled as the eating area in the Mars’ apartment. He thought about the vast dining room table that had been in his house growing up. He’d rather eat here any day. 

“Set the table for me, would you?” she asks as she does something complicated at the stove. 

He nods and starts going through the cupboards. 

“Fancy plates are on the top shelf,” she offers with her back still to him at the end of the kitchen. 

He locates what must be the fancy plates and also finds wine glasses plus silverware. She’s already pulled out placemats so he sets the table and tries to make it look like the arrangement at one of his mom’s dinner parties. 

“Red or white with dinner?” He asks, locating a corkscrew in the drawer next to the forks and spoons. 

“Um.” Veronica giggles. “I have no idea. Whatever sounds best to you.” 

He picks white. 

“What are you making anyway?” He comes to stand behind her and peers over her shoulder at the pots on top of the stove. He’s pretty sure he can identify both mashed potatoes and green beans. 

“Cornish game hens. I tried them last year and they are actually pretty good.”

She looks up to meet his eye and he realizes he is standing too close for just friends. He jumps back, as if burned, and leans against the counter adjacent to her. 

He’s seen her red dress before, he remembers her wearing it when she went to the Board of Trustees meeting earlier in the semester, but it’s sufficiently Christmassy and he’s always thought she looks great in red. She added a black sweater to go with it and pulled her hair back into a ponytail, topped with the Santa hat. Instead of heels, though, she’s wearing unicorn slippers. 

“Oh, I almost forgot,” she reaches for something on the other side of the counter and tosses it to him, “I found this for you.” 

He catches it as she smirks. It’s a green and red striped hat with a bell on the tail end and large, pointy elf ears. He puts it on proudly. 

“How do I look?” He asks as he strikes the Vogue poses. 

“Perfect!” 

The timer dings and she pulls a large pan out of the oven. “Bring those plates over here, please?”

He complies and she arranges the potatoes and green beans artfully around what look like tiny little turkeys. 

“Voila!” she exclaims dramatically as she carries the plates to the table and sets them down. “A Christmas feast!”

He sits across from her. 

“Thanks again for inviting me, Veronica.” He looks down at his plate. “This is really nice.”

As usual, Veronica brushes off his moment of seriousness. “I was going to spend the night crying in my room and eating ice cream.” She shrugs. “This is better.”

He smiles at her and takes a bite. “It is.”

——

After dinner, Logan helps Veronica clean up and then they locate the Christmas tree in the back of the Mars’ hall closet. It’s not very big, maybe four or five feet tall, so it doesn’t take them very long to get it set up and put lights on. Veronica hides the box of handmade ornaments—on the top shelf in the closet, she’s not as sneaky as she thinks—and they decorate it with colored glass balls. 

It’s simple, nothing like the trees that his mom had all over his house, but the fact that they decorated it themselves gives him an odd sense of pride. 

Veronica’s eyes are shining softly, lit only by the glow of the tiny lights on the tree. She is gazing at their handiwork quietly and then turns to him and squeezes his arm. 

“I have this memory,” she begins eagerly, “I don’t know how old I was, but one year on Christmas Eve, we all slept downstairs in the living room in front of the Christmas tree. We kept the lights on and it just felt...I don’t know, magical? Does that sound dumb?”

She’s biting her lip and he can tell that she needs confirmation that she didn’t imagine this, that there were good times in her childhood. Logan, of all people, knows how hard it can be to find happy memories. He’s determined to help her hang on to this one. 

He nods rapidly. “Let’s do it.”

Her eyes widen. “Really?”

“Yeah, it’ll be fun.” He picks an invisible piece of lint off his sweater sleeve and pretends like it’s not a big deal. “Then when we wake up on Christmas morning, we’re already be here, right by the tree to open presents. It’s perfect.” 

Veronica’s ‘truly happy’ smile spreads across her face, the one that stretches her mouth wide and lights him up inside, the one that he used to live for, and he knows, for once, it was the right thing to say. 

“Okay.” He loves the excitement that colors her voice. “Go get your pajamas on and meet me back here for some Christmas movies. I’m gonna find blankets and pillows.”

——

When he comes back into the living room, wearing grey jersey pants and a tight black t-shirt, Veronica has piled what he suspects are all the blankets in the apartment into a nest on the floor in front of the Christmas tree. She is bustling around, full of happy energy, and Logan wants to tell her again how glad he is that she invited him. 

She made it clear earlier that she didn’t want to hear that, though, so he refrains. He’s pretty sure she knows, anyway. 

She disappears to put on pajamas and he takes the opportunity to set out the presents he picked up for her under the tree. He notices that she snuck a few under there with his name on them, too, but he’s smart enough to not get caught shaking them. 

He makes popcorn and settles into the blanket pile. When Veronica returns, in a t-shirt that proclaims ‘Naughty’ and red plaid Christmas pajama pants, she lies down close to him but not touching. Their heads are angled together, propped up by pillows, but their bodies are pointed out. 

They bicker over which Christmas movie to watch. Logan vetoes “It’s A Wonderful Life,” —too sappy, he declares—and Veronica wrinkles her nose up at “Elf,”—too funny—so they end up with “The Muppet Christmas Carol” and then “A Christmas Story,” quoting most of the movie lines verbatim to each other. 

Logan notices that as the evening wanes, they have migrated closer together in their blanket nest, still not touching but now it’s more like inches of buffer between them instead of feet. 

He’s been careful to keep his innuendo to a minimum tonight—proudly not commenting on her ‘Naughty’ shirt, or anything else. Veronica invited him over as a friend and he doesn’t want to make her uncomfortable or break the fragile bridge that they are building. He knows what it’s like to lose her friendship—senior year flashes before him—and it’s just not worth it. 

He offers to take Backup out for her, one last time for the evening, and when he comes back inside, she’s fallen asleep. He locks the door, turns off the TV, and then gazes at her in her sleep. He can still see the hollows beneath her eyes, stark in the light from the glowing tree, and he hopes she sleeps better tonight. 

It would have been hard to leave this perfect cocoon of warmth and contentment to go back to the frat house. He’s glad she insisted that he spend the night. No one should have to sleep alone on Christmas. 

He settles back into his spot in their pile of blankets on the floor, keeping his careful distance from Veronica. She, however, mutters his name in her sleep and closes the gap between them, wrapping her arm around his waist and snuggling her head on his chest. He sighs and lets himself relax, comforted by the familiar smell of her. 

——

The first thing that Veronica notices when she wakes up the next morning is that she feels refreshed for the first time in weeks. After her breakup with Logan and then the stress of her first college finals, she hadn’t slept well lately. 

The next thing she notices is the firm chest pillowing her cheek and the strong arms wrapped around her. She inhales—mmm, Logan. He has a distinct scent that’s burned in her brain. It’s a combination of his aftershave, salt water, and something that’s just—him. It’s a scent that always makes her feel safe, and just a little turned on. 

She hasn’t let herself admit it out loud to anyone, but her breakup with Logan has really wrecked her. He isn’t without fault—he never is—but she took him for granted and he was right, she wasn’t willing to lean on him. She wasn’t ready to give up her independence...but it’s made her realize that if she wants a real relationship, she has to let her partner in. The only problem is, she doesn’t want a relationship with anyone besides Logan. 

That doesn’t mean she’s willing to face him after their apparent cuddle-fest, though, so she gingerly eases herself away from him and out of the tangle of blankets. Once free, she retreats to the bathroom. 

When she re-emerges, Logan is sitting up with his back against the couch, rubbing his eyes blearily. The hair on the left side of his head is sticking straight out and she realizes she’d forgotten how adorable he looks as he rolls out of bed in the morning. 

She leans her hip against the kitchen island as she observes him. “Good morning. Merry Christmas. How did you sleep?”

“Mmm. Really well, actually. The floor was more comfortable than I expected.” His voice is still rough with sleep and it reminds her of other times they’ve woken up together—which sends tingles of warmth straight to her core. 

“Yeah, I thought so, too.”

“Maybe that was because of your comfortable pillow.” Logan smirks at her and gestures up and down his torso. 

So much for avoiding that awkward topic. She turns away to hide her blushing cheeks and busies herself with making coffee. 

“Sorry,” she mutters as she retrieves the coffee filter and the canister of Maxwell House. “I must have been cold.”

“Ah. Before you start that,” Logan hops up off the floor and rummages for a gift bag he stashed under the tree, “you might want to open this.”

He comes into the kitchen and hands her the bag, leaning his back against the island and watching as she inspects it. It’s perhaps the ugliest gift bag she’s ever seen—covered in orange tabby cats in Christmas stockings. She huffs a laugh and tosses out the tissue paper to find a two bags of her favorite coffee. 

She beams at Logan. “You remembered.” 

He glances down at his sock-clad feet, explaining, “Yeah. It's the kind they had at the Grand that you liked.”

She closes the distance between them and stands on her tiptoes to place a quick kiss on his cheek, back at the counter before her actions even register. “Thanks. Coffee is practically life, so…” 

She measures out the two scoops to cover her awkwardness and fills the pot with water, meeting Logan’s eye at the sink. “Want breakfast first or presents?”

“Hmm.” He glances over at the tree. “Definitely presents. But—”

Backup chooses this moment to reappear from Keith’s room—he deserves to come home and find his bed covered in dog hair, Veronica thinks bitterly—and dance around by the door. 

“Never mind,” Logan amends with a smile. “I can take him out if you want to start on breakfast?” 

He heads over to the dog, kneeling down and rubbing his ears while he clips the leash on his collar. 

“Okay, thanks.” Veronica hides her face in the refrigerator, ostensibly looking for the eggs, suddenly uncomfortable with the level of intimacy that she feels sharing these little normal moments with Logan. 

She takes a deep breath as he and Backup exit the apartment. Focus on breakfast, Veronica, she tells herself. 

By the time they return, she’s locked her emotions back in the vault of her heart, ran a brush through her hair, and started on scrambled eggs and French toast. 

Backup ambles over to her for some affection and she rubs his head and finds him a treat while Logan leans against the island again. She peeks at him surreptitiously. The boy can lean like nobody’s business. 

He seems to snap out of his revere, staring at the skillet of eggs, and asks, “Hey, is there anything I can do to help?”

“Nope.” 

Veronica deftly plates the eggs and toast, sets two mugs of coffee before their place settings at the island, and realizes she forgot the syrup. She turns to the cabinets behind her and stretches up on her tiptoes but her fingers just brush the syrup bottle. Before she can even move, she feels Logan behind her. His fingers close around Mrs. Buttersworth and she turns to him, seeing his smirk. 

“Is this a common problem for you, Mars?” He hands her the bottle. 

She clutches it to her chest tightly, rolling her eyes. “I’ve survived this far. Thanks.” 

She edges to the right to sneak by him without touching, his proximity making her nervous again. 

“Let’s eat.” She plunks the syrup bottle down at the table and Logan shrugs and sits across from her. 

The apartment fills with the quiet sound of forks scraping plates. 

“This is really good. Thanks.” Logan swallows a large bite. “So. Do you have any Christmas Day traditions that I should be aware of?”

Veronica shrugs. “Usually just a lazy day. Movies and TV and stuff. You?”

“Nah. A lot of times we were gone for Christmas, vacations and stuff, or movie premieres, so it was never really relaxed. We can make our own tradition this year.”

Logan’s eyes meet hers across the table and she coughs on her sip of coffee. Their relationship has always thrived in the summer but they’ve never lasted long enough to spend Christmas together as a couple. She had thought at one point, maybe, that they would still be together this year, but it turns out she was wrong. Friends can still make traditions, she supposes. 

She brings her last bite of French toast to her mouth and chews. 

“Okay,” she speaks around her mouthful and swallows. “We’ve already done the traditional Christmas movies and decorated the tree. What else?”

Logan licks the last of the syrup from the tines of his fork and she tries not to shiver at the sexy visual.   
“I’m gonna clean up breakfast and then we have some presents to open. After that, well, I have some ideas.” 

He grins, his genuine, excited little kid smile, and Veronica can’t help but look forward to whatever he is planning. She wants to make him smile like that all the time. 

To distract herself from those kind of thoughts, she saunters over to the tree. “Leave the dishes. It’s present time.” 

She selects an oblong box wrapped in snowflake paper and shakes it, tantalizingly. “This one has your name on it.” 

She smiles winningly at him as he ducks his head and sits on the floor next to her. 

He quickly unwraps the present, revealing a beautiful brown leather moleskine notebook. He gently runs his hand over the soft cover and smiles up at her. 

“This is great. Thanks, Veronica.”

She shrugs. “It just looked like something you should have.”

He nods and selects a present for her from under the tree. She thought the cat gift bag was bad, but this box is wrapped in paper that has barnyard animals wearing Santa hats. She raises an eyebrow at his choices but he merely smirks and murmurs, “Christmas spirit.”

Veronica laughs as she open the box. She lifts off the lid to reveal a charcoal-colored zip-up hoodie. As she picks it up, she notices that it’s cut like a motorcycle jacket with an off-center zipper. The knit jersey material feels decadently soft as she rubs it between her fingers. 

“Oooh, Logan, I love it.” She puts it on over her pajama shirt and it’s perfect—soft and warm. 

“It reminded me of you,” he murmurs, looking down at his lap and tapping his fingers on his thigh. 

She hugs her arms around herself and rocks back on her heels. “Your turn.”

Veronica selects another package for Logan, this one similar in shape to the one she just opened, in the same snowflake wrapping paper she used before. 

Her fingers brush against his as she hands him the present and their eyes lock, making the moment feel uncomfortably intimate. She looks away as her face floods with heat. It’s not a big deal—why won’t her body listen to that memo?

Logan quickly rips the paper off the clothing box and lifts the lid. Tucked inside is a simple maroon long sleeved Henley-style shirt. He fingers the soft cotton fabric and smiles at her. 

“I like this style. Thanks.”

Veronica likes it, too, and she’s always thought Logan looks great in maroon. She bought the shirt for him months ago and hadn’t had the heart to return it after they broke up, so she’s glad she can give it to him today. At the time, she imagined how the fabric would cling to his chest and arms...now she tries not to think about that. 

“I’ll put it on later,” he is saying as he hands her a suspiciously tiny box. This one is wrapped in paper decorated with chubby babies wearing Santa costumes. It’s hideous. 

“Logan, where did you find all this terrible wrapping paper?”

He shrugs modestly. “It’s one of my many talents.” 

He raises his eyebrows suggestively and emphasizes the word ‘many,’ reminding her of some of his other skills. She gulps and ignores his innuendo, hoping to play it off like she didn’t notice. 

“Be sure to put that on your resume.”

She’s unwrapped the tiny white box and opens it to find a blue velvet jewelry box. Instantly, she panics—her heart rate increases and her palms start to sweat. Accepting what is undoubtedly expensive jewelry from an ex-boyfriend seems wrong. 

“Logan…”

He cuts off her protests. “Open it.”

With a resigned sigh, she flips open the hinged box. Her hand flies to the star-shaped diamond pendant that’s always nestled in the hollow of her throat. She’s staring at a pair of earrings that match it perfectly. 

“I know how much Lilly’s necklace means to you.” His voice is low. “I found these this fall, after your birthday, and, well...” Her eyes fly from the glittering diamonds to his face but he’s staring at her hands on the box. “Even after...everything... I thought you should have the matched set.”

She’s not sure she can speak around the tears in her throat. Wordlessly, she pulls Logan to her in a hug that possibly lasts a little too long for their ‘just friends’ status. But it gives her a moment to compose herself and she doesn’t hear Logan complain. 

She clears her throat as she pulls away. “Thanks.” She can’t meet his eyes now. To cover, she removes the earrings from the box and, tilting her head from side to side, puts them in her earlobes. She tosses her hair to show them off.

“What do you think?” 

“Beautiful,” Logan whispers. 

His eyes are shining, reflecting the twinkling lights from the tree. Her breath catches in her throat as she realizes he’s not just talking about the earrings. He leans towards her and she recognizes the look on his face. Her heartbeat kicks up a notch. 

Logan’s lips brush against hers softly. It’s gentle and sweet but it sends a jolt of desire to her core as her body remembers all the things he is capable of making her feel. 

“I’ve missed you,” he whispers against her mouth as he breaks the kiss. 

Veronica pulls back to look into his eyes. “I’ve missed you, too. But are you sure about this? Are you sure you want this? You broke up with me, and…” she trails off, looking down at her lap and crumpling wrapping paper between her fingers. 

He sighs deeply. She knows that she’s broken the moment, or whatever, and she can’t decide if she’s disappointed or relieved. Yeah, mostly disappointed. 

Logan is talking, though, so she tries to focus. “I broke up with you because you didn’t need me. You didn’t include me in your life. I guess I thought you inviting me over for Christmas maybe was your way of saying that you wanted me to be involved. I’m really sorry I—”

“No!” Veronica grabs his hands in his lap and squeezes. “You, you didn’t misread things. I just wanted to make sure that you weren’t just here because you were lonely. I wish…”

She swallows again and tries to keep the panic at bay. Talking about her feelings doesn’t come easily for Veronica but she knows there are things that she needs to say, things Logan needs to hear. 

She takes a deep breath. “I wish I had talked more, listened better to you, trusted you more. I’m sorry, Logan. I can’t not be me; I can’t stop investigating something just because you’re worried. But I could have handled it better.”

He runs his thumbs over the backs of her hands, still clasping his tightly, and stares at her intently. “I didn’t always do the best job of helping you trust me. I know there are things we both need to work on, but this time apart... I don’t want to be with anyone else, Veronica.”

She shakes her head. “I don’t, either. I only want you. I’m willing to work on those things.” 

His eyes light up at her words and he squeezes her hands. “Really? I mean—really?” 

The look of astonishment on his face confirms her suspicions that she hadn’t really been willing to work on things with Logan before. But since their breakup she’s had time to think about things, decide what she really wants and she knows now—after she lost it—that her relationship with Logan is important and worth working on. 

So she takes a deep breath and gives him a tremulous smile. “Yes. Trust. Honesty. Commitment. All that jazz.” 

She rolls her eyes at him, still smiling, because this is a lot of emotional interaction for her. 

Before she can make a quip to deflect, Logan’s lips are pressed against hers again, this time urgently. His hands move to cup her face, then tangle in the hair at the back of her neck, and she parts her lips, allowing his tongue to slip into her mouth. She feels everything he’s pouring into the kiss—longing and desire and hope—and she climbs into his lap and wraps her arms around him, holding him tightly. 

Eventually Veronica has to stop kissing him so that she can breathe. She’s panting slightly, trying to catch her breath, but Logan makes that impossible by sliding his lips to her neck and sucking gently on the spot that drives her crazy. She can’t help the moan that escapes her throat. 

Backup seems to take this as a sign of distress and chooses this moment to come barreling into the living room, knocking them both over. Thankfully Logan falls back against the couch and not the tree, catching Veronica securely against his chest. 

“Backup!” she scolds, laughing as the pit bull paws at her and nuzzles her shoulder as she sits up. 

Logan rubs the dog’s ears affectionately. “Do you think your dad taught him to attack at the first sign of PDA?”

Veronica rolls her eyes. “I wouldn’t put it past him.”

Logan’s hand moves to the back of his neck and she can tell that he’s suddenly anxious at the mention of her dad. “Is he coming home today? Because I can leave—”

“No.” She interrupts him and puts her hand firmly on his knee. “I mean, I don’t know when he will be back, but I want you to stay.”

“Won’t he be mad when he finds out?” He still won’t look at her, choosing to stare at his lap instead. 

“I don’t care. I’m tired of stressing about it.” She shrugs and then smiles at him as he finally meets her eye. 

“Veronica, I know I shouldn’t say this...but this might be the best Christmas I’ve ever had.” He smirks at her from under his lashes. She can tell that he’s teasing her, being deliberately sentimental because she hates that. 

“Ugh. Are you trying to turn your life into a Hallmark Christmas movie? Not allowed here.” She playfully shoved his shoulder. 

“No, I don’t want that.” His eyes are wide with mock horror. “If it were a Hallmark movie, I would give you a sweet kiss right now.”

Logan leans over and gives her a chaste peck on the lips. 

“Ignoring the fact that you know way too much about cheesy movies, what’s wrong with a kiss?” She climbs into his lap. 

“Mmm.” His hands cup her face and he kisses her again, long and slow, his tongue languorously exploring her mouth. “I don’t want a nice PG kiss.” 

Her stomach clenches in anticipation at his words and a bolt of desire shoots through her. 

“What do you want, then?” Her voice is low and breathy. 

He doesn’t answer, just moves his hands from her face to her waist, running them up and down her sides, brushing against her breasts and kissing her again. 

She moans into his mouth as she straddles him, feeling him hard beneath her. 

“All I want for Christmas is you.”

She can’t help it. Veronica starts giggling. It’s just too sappy. 

Logan wags his eyebrows at her suggestively, causing her to laugh harder. 

“What?” His faux-innocent act doesn’t fool her and his fingers are purposefully tickling her sides now. 

“Next you’re going to say you want to unwrap me!” She huffs the words out between giggles, still rocking on Logan’s lap. 

“Well, if that offer’s on the table…” He shifts her weight and stands, carrying her through the living room and to her bedroom. 

“I think there’s one more present in here.” His eyes twinkle with mischief and innuendo. 

“Is it a pony?” She takes advantage of her position in his arms to press kisses along the hollow of his throat, feeling his muscles move as he swallows. 

“No, but you can definitely ride it.” 

She knows he can’t see her eye roll but she gives his neck one anyway and licks a teasing stripe along his jaw. 

“Merry Christmas, Logan,” she murmurs. 

“Merry Christmas, Bobcat.”

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks and holiday wishes to Heavenli24 for her beta work!


End file.
